my perspective

2011-11-06T16:23:00.000-08:00

The posts on this blog (under LABELS on the right sidebar) are simply my opinions, observations, and information that I find important or humorous.........all are on the conservative side...........and what I believe is common sense, may not necessarily be how others feel, and I respect that.

BEST FRIENDS

One day, long, long ago, there lived a woman

who did not whine, nag or bitch...(that would be me)

But that was a long time ago,

and it was just that one day. THE END.

The Gift of Fear

2011-11-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 1999

True fear is a gift. Unwarranted fear is a curse. Learn how to tell the difference.

A date won't take "no" for an answer. The new nanny gives a mother an uneasy feeling. A stranger in a deserted parking lot offers unsolicited help. The threat of violence surrounds us every day. But we can protect ourselves, by learning to trust—and act on—our gut instincts.

In this empowering book, Gavin de Becker, the man Oprah Winfrey calls the nation's leading expert on violent behavior, shows you how to spot even subtle signs of danger—before it's too late. Shattering the myth that most violent acts are unpredictable, de Becker, whose clients include top Hollywood stars and government agencies, offers specific ways to protect yourself and those you love, including...how to act when approached by a stranger...when you should fear someone close to you...what to do if you are being stalked...how to uncover the source of anonymous threats or phone calls...the biggest mistake you can make with a threatening person...and more. Learn to spot the danger signals others miss. It might just save your life.

________________________

I read this book years ago and everything the author wrote made total sense. (I bought three copies as gifts.)

Fight Like A Girl...

2011-11-06T14:20:00.000-08:00

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2007

WWW.FIGHTLIKEAGIRLANDWIN.COM

It's an unfortunate reality that women are susceptible to random acts of aggression, from sexual harassment and stalking to physical assaults, domestic violence, date rape and worse. But women can learn how to protect and defend themselves--with this groundbreaking guidebook. Let martial arts black belt and accomplished journalist Lori Hartman Gervasi walk you through easy-to-follow, everyday steps for taking charge of your personal safety, training your reflexes, and--if and when the time comes--using force. Her program consists of 26 potentially life-saving decisions that every woman must make, including:

DECIDE TO BELIEVE IN YOUR FIGHT - Battles are waged from the insideout. Your conscience, intelligence, and guts must be committed to thecause. You and those you love are the things worth fighting for.DECIDE TO DEVISE A STRATEGY - Createa one-way ticket out of every imaginable circumstance, from back-door escaperoutes to getaways in public places. Think "what-if…?", planfor the unexpected, and be ready for anything! DECIDE TO RECOGNIZE THE THREAT OF THEINITIAL ATTACK - When practicing awareness, you can detect danger before it happens. The bad guywill take steps to get close to you. Watch carefully and identify thesefor what they are--the preludes to an attack.DECIDE TO MOVE - If an attackerstrikes, don't freeze--get moving! Break through your fear with instantmobility. You have limitless options and any movement works as long as itleads to your safety.DECIDE TO ACT ON YOUR INSTINCTS -Your intuition is your guide, but you must respond physically in order to besuccessful. When something isn't right, take action, change plans,redirect yourself, and control your destiny!…along with Defense Do's And Don'ts, inspiring "Power Points," andother survival tactics that can help you to be prepared, stay strong, and
FIGHT LIKE A GIRL…AND WIN
From www.Amazon .com

The Beasts of Bureaucracy

2011-07-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

Want to know how Government Programs and the Government in general are run? Read on.

2010-11-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

ON GETTING OLDER
Now I think....
• actors are what they are...actors.........I don't care about their political opinions...and I don't bite my nails waiting for their next movie. In fact I'm disgusted that some of them would even act in some of the propaganda movies that are made today.......such talent gone to waste just for money.........and they call others Capitalists? And how dare they tell us to go green and conserve while they are driving their limos and flying in private planes and living in palace homes, things that really use up energy............. and we should idolize these people?

• (some) celebrities that started out sincere are now nothing but activists for politicians.

• most politicians are good actors and need to remember who they work for ................US! And they need to stop with the "baby-hugging" when their popularity wanes to make points! Homeboy?...Good Grief!

I'm generally not impressed or intimidated by anyone anymore! And here's why:
They all wake up in the morning with bad breath and bed head (well, depending on the hair LOL).......they scratch in places they wouldn't in public........ they pick their noses.........they burp........they snore and have gas.........they sit on the toilet while reading the paper..... the list goes on!

So the next time you see them making their speeches and "putting on the Ritz" just get the visuals of them as above! I'll guarantee you will no longer be as impressed AND you'll get a good chuckle to boot!

You may be surprised how many of these people suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder which is a very real disease. Read about it and you will easily be able to determine who suffers from this disease. LOL Mayo Clinic on NPD

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?

2010-10-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

Most individuals when they hear the word non-profit picture organizations and their employees working tirelessly to help the less fortunate or working toward a world altering cause for low wages and long hours. May of the glossy advertisement brochures that these companies mail out are designed to elicit the emotional responses necessary to get people to donate to their program's cause.

Non-profit programs may not make money per se, however administrators can make up to six (plus) figure incomes. Not only that but there are usually other paid expenses and benefits such as luxury cars (including gas mileage) insurance, telephones, computers, retirement plans, vacations, bonuses, etc.

So you see, starting a non-profit organization can have it's perks. In no way am I inferring that most non-profit programs are run poorly with only the administrator's best interests at heart but it's necessary to take a look at how much of the donations are actually spent on the program's promises versus operating costs.

For a number of years my husband and I donated monthly to a couple of well known programs only to be shocked when we learned that only a very small amount of our donation actually went toward the "cause" of one of the charities. Another program, in very tiny print, promised that we would receive a financial statement regarding their activities. I requested this information twice but never received a report.....however I did keep receiving their ads for me to "give".

We finally decided to "give" on a local level, within our community instead.

I used to think of "donating to a cause" as giving to large national or world organizations until I realized that if we paid attention to all that we can do within our own community this might make the biggest difference of all.

Some suggestions:
• Local food banks
• Money donations to the Salvation Army (or other)
• A local mission or shelter
• Donate food, or cash to a local animal rescue
• Holiday (or any day) food baskets
• Purchase needed items for individuals in shelters
• Drop off gifts or clothing for children in foster care at designated places
• Purchase or help collect clothing or blankets for shelters
• Purchase gifts during the holidays (most stores have "wish" cards hanging from
• Christmas trees, etc)
• Your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, or neighbor child's classroom may need extra supplies. Find out what they need and how many. Some local stores may even give you a small discount for the cause.
• Give a Christmas bonus to your hairdresser, nail technician, housekeeper,
garden helper, waiters or waitresses at your favorite restaurant
• Or help a friend or family member that may be in need.

To me this is "sharing the wealth" (GIVING OF YOUR OWN FREE WILL) and it does not have to be in great amounts or none at all if you're not at the moment in the position to give. But I sincerely believe that if we try to get back to "community thinking" we can make a huge difference regardless of how little or much we can afford to share.

This is an informative site about non-profit organizations http://www.charitywatch.org/

Atlas Shrugged

2010-06-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

Politician invariably respond to crisis that in most cases they themselves have created, by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These in turn create more problems and poverty, which inspire politicians to create more programs and the downward spiral repeats itself until the productive sectors of the economy collapse under the weight of taxes and other burdens imposed in the name of fairness, equality, and do-goodism.

In the book these relentless Government wealth redistributionists and their programs discredit the actual individual and companies that bring in the funds that allow "the government" to have money to redistribute. Without these the"government" would be pennyless.

What will the "contributors" eventually decide to do? What will the "government policy makers" and the system's "takers and users" end up with?

In the book every new act of government futility and stupidity carries with it a benevolent sounding title.

Does this ring a bell with today's "Emergency Stabilization Act" and the "Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act" and "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan" to name only a very few?

___________________________

What about "SHOVEL READY" ?

Whose money is this man talking about when he JOKES about his failed trillion dollar stimulus?

HARD TO EXPLAIN IT ANY BETTER ........….

2010-02-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

This rather brilliantly cuts thru all the political doublespeak we get. It puts it into a much better perspective.

Lesson # 1:

* U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
* Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
* New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
* National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
* Recent budget cuts: $ 38,500,000,000

Let's now remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a household budget:

* Annual family income: $21,700
* Money the family spent: $38,200
* New debt on the credit card: $16,500
* Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
* Total budget cuts: $385

Got It ?

OK now Lesson # 2:

(Here's another way to look at the Debt Ceiling)

Let's say, You come home from work and find there has been a sewer backup in your neighborhood....and your home has sewage all the way up to your ceilings.

What do you think you should do ......

Raise the ceilings, or pump out the crap?

Your choice is coming Nov. 2012

CAN YOU BELIEVE SOME OF THESE?

2009-11-30T19:32:00.000-08:00

I've checked some of these programs out......CONGRESS! MAKE THE CUT! And how about asking the American taxpayer's input what their money should be used for!

MOST ELECTED OFFICIALS DON'T LISTEN AND DO JUST AS THEY PLEASE...LIKE IN SLAM-BANG-THANK-YOU MAM' FOR YOUR VOTES!

These are all the programs that the new house has proposed cutting.
Let's stay on top of it and see what they really do.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting Subsidy. $445 million annual savings.
Save America's Treasures Program. $25 million annual savings.
International Fund for Ireland. $17 million annual savings.
Legal Services Corporation. $420 million annual savings.
National Endowment for the Arts. $167.5 million annual savings.
National Endowment for the Humanities. $167.5 million annual savings.
Hope VI Program.. $250 million annual savings.
Amtrak Subsidies. $1.565 billion annual savings.
Eliminate duplicative education programs. H.R. 2274 (in last Congress), authored by Rep. McKeon, eliminates 68 at a savings of $1.3 billion annually.
U.S. Trade Development Agency. $55 million annual savings.
Woodrow Wilson Center Subsidy. $20 million annual savings.
Cut in half funding for congressional printing and binding. $47 million annual savings.
John C. Stennis Center Subsidy. $430,000 annual savings.
Community Development Fund. $4.5 billion annual savings.
Heritage Area Grants and Statutory Aid. $24 million annual savings.
Cut Federal Travel Budget in Half. $7.5 billion annual savings
Trim Federal Vehicle Budget by 20%. $600 million annual savings.
Essential Air Service. $150 million annual savings.
Technology Innovation Program. $70 million annual savings.
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program. $125 million annual savings.
Department of Energy Grants to States for Weatherization. $530 million annual savings.
Beach Replenishment. $95 million annual savings.
New Starts Transit. $2 billion annual savings.
Exchange Programs for Alaska, Natives Native Hawaiians, and Their Historical Trading Partners in Massachusetts. $9 million annual savings
Intercity and High Speed Rail Grants. $2.5 billion annual savings.
Title X Family Planning. $318 million annual savings.
Appalachian Regional Commission. $76 million annual savings.
Economic Development Administration. $293 million annual savings.
Programs under the National and Community Services Act. $1.15 billion annual savings.
Applied Research at Department of Energy. $1.27 billion annual savings.
FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership. $200 million annual savings.
Energy Star Program. $52 million annual savings.
Economic Assistance to Egypt. $250 million annually.
U.S. Agency for International Development. $1.39 billion annual savings.
General Assistance to District of Columbia. $210 million annual savings.
Subsidy for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. $150 million annual savings.
Presidential Campaign Fund. $775 million savings over ten years.
No funding for federal office space acquisition. $864 million annual savings.
End prohibitions on competitive sourcing of government services.
Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. More than $1 billion annually.
IRS Direct Deposit: Require the IRS to deposit fees for some services it offers (such as processing payment plans for taxpayers) to the Treasury, instead of allowing it to remain as part of its budget. $1.8 billion savings over ten years.
Require collection of unpaid taxes by federal employees. $1 billion total savings. WHAT????
Prohibit taxpayer funded union activities by federal employees. $1.2 billion savings over ten years.
Sell excess federal properties the government does not make use of. $15 billion total savings.
Eliminate death gratuity for Members of Congress.
Eliminate Mohair Subsidies. $1 million annual savings.
Eliminate taxpayer subsidies to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. $12.5 million annual savings
Eliminate Market Access Program. $200 million annual savings.
USDA Sugar Program. $14 million annual savings.
Subsidy to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). $93 million annual savings.
Eliminate the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program. $56.2 million annual savings.
Eliminate fund for Obamacare administrative costs. $900 million savings.
Ready to Learn TV Program. $27 million savings..
HUD Ph.D. Program.
Deficit Reduction Check-Off Act.

TOTAL SAVINGS: $2.5 Trillion over Ten Years

My question is, what is all this doing in the budget in the first place?

COMMON SENSE

2009-11-30T19:19:00.000-08:00

I recently received this via e-mail and supposedly it was credited to a speech made by Bill Gates to high school graduates......well...I don't think so and I can't find any confirmation but regardless......... whoever wrote this has much COMMON SENSE.....SOMETHING WE DESPERATELY NEED TODAY!

WELCOME TO REAL LIFE!

Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: They called it opportunity.
Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were: So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room..
Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. *This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. *Do that on your own time.
Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

A bit of a Hypocrite

2009-11-22T19:56:00.000-08:00

Shame on you Cher!
Sorry but many of the "f'__ing teabaggers" as you recently called them on the Jay Leno Show have been the reason for your success. You would look and live much different today had you not had portions of their money over the years to live the affluent lifestyle you've been able to live. So you are a capitalist, right? And when did you start to set yourself above the rest, feeling so omnipotent?

Cher is well known for voicing her opinions yet she downgrades the individuals who stand up and question this administration's actions. A little hypocrisy there?

Actually I'm very sad and totally disappointed because I've always like Cher....starting with her Sony and Cher days when I was in my teens. You know how impressionable we are during those years, relating to songs with a passion and meshing them into our own lives. I still have memories of specific incidents when I hear certain tunes.

I sincerely feel that many of the celebrities have a god complex.....and I wonder if she ever looks back to where she came from and where she's been...from what I saw on this video, I doubt it.

Upper left: Late 60's.............Upper right: 2010......Bottom: a picture how she might realistically look today without being tucked, pulled, stitched, dyed, botoxed, made up by experts, and poured into clothing designed to flatter.......all in all at 64 she would still be a good looking woman...
and certainly more real.

(I should clarify..I see nothing wrong with cosmetic surgery if this is what one opts to do and can afford to do.....but I do have a problem with people selectively forgetting that they look youthful, or altered for the better, because of the enhancement and NOT because they are above the aging process!)

But the bottom line for me is this: Cher had asked the press to be sensitive and non judgemental to her daughter's (Chastity) sex-reassignment because this is Chastity/Chaz's his/her personal choice and personal expression.

Jennifer Elia and
Chastity/Chaz Bono

So Cher, how about being sensitive and non judgemental regarding the citizens of this country expressing their beliefs??

Sorry to offend anyone but some individuals might find it (in Cher's delicate words)"f'-cking nuts" to think that Cher believes it's okay for her daughter to have her breasts cut off, a penis added, and a slew of hormones injected so she can grow a beard and otherwise live as a man.

Personally I do not care one way or another what Chastity/Chaz decides to do with her life.I do care about Cher's hypocrisy regarding self expression.

I often wonder if some actors, entertainers, and other celebrities sometimes get totally confused as to who they really are below the surface or have simply died inside and have become unpleasant ghosts. Just goes to show you that no amount of money can buy "class"!

______________________________

SELF EXPRESSION

The wonders of plastic surgery

Interesting....listen to what he has to say.....

LETTER FROM FORMER TOP EXECUTIVE TO OBAMA

2009-11-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

Please read, even if you are an Obama fan. It is legitimate, written by respected, Lou Pritchett, formerly of Proctor and Gamble. Lou Pritchett is one of corporate Americas true living legends- an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as "partnering." Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America ' crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world..

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaugh’s, Hannitys, O'Reillys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.
Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett

TRUE - CHECK:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/youscareme.asp

SECTION 8 RENTER

2009-11-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

We own and manage our 4 duplexes (8 units in all) so I get to know our tenants well and if issues arise we try to work them out to both of our satisfaction. We are not slumlords. We do regular maintenance to keep our units looking nice. When things break from normal wear or get broken accidentally we fix the problem ASAP. Most of our tenants are families who have rented from us for some time.

My husband and I built the units from finding the property to hands-on work until they were completed. Yes, we do receive money for renting them but we also take pride in them because we contributed most of the labor ourselves to make them a decent and comfortable place for someone to live. So perhaps that's why this is personal for me.

OUR FIRST SECTION 8 TENANT
About 8 years ago a woman with 3 boys ask if we take Section 8 housing vouchers. My initial reaction was to say NO since in all honesty it gave me visuals of the trashed tenement houses in the ghettos. She told me a sad story how her previous landlord accused her of things that she didn't do ...blahh ...blahh..blahh, and I gave her the benefit of the doubt. She was very likable and believable and in desperate need to find a place to rent. I told her I would need to get back to her.

I talked to a couple who were renting a small house to a Section 8 client and they were happy with the tenant as well as with the program. The couple told me that Section 8 makes yearly inspections which I, at that time, assumed was to make sure the tenant did not destroy the place.

Anyway, I met this prospective tenant's parents who lived about 2 blocks away and they were willing to help her with the deposit. Both were pleasant and wanted to be helpful to their daughter, who was then in her late 30's or so. They also verified that their daughter had had some bad luck with her previous "bad" landlord. There were no employers to contact since she had no job...and, off course, her personal references checked out just fine. Looking back I can't believe how ignorant I was!

(THIS IS WHAT THE UNIT LOOKED
LIKE WHEN THIS WOMAN MOVED IN!
SEE BELOW WHAT SHE LEFT
US ONCE SHE MOVED OUT)

We rented her the unit. Since she passed her inspections each year I again assumed that there were no problems (I assumed WRONG and I should have been making my own yearly inspections at this tenant's unit) however I have never had problems with any of my other tenants intentionally damaging things and when renters have moved out we have never had any serious issues.

Over the years I have often wondered how this tenant managed to stay on the program since she was a total slob of a housekeeper. I now realize that her complete disarray hid much of the damage that had been made over the years. (I believe it got worse when her kids reached their teens.)

How the unit ended up in the unbelievable damaged state was not caused by her trashing it because she was angry at having to move. NO, it was a slow process over a period of 8 years. Over the years we have made many request for her to clean things up which she usually did although only at minimum.

Last year I wondered how in the world she passed her inspection since the carpet looked as though it came out of an auto repair shop, the blinds were so bent that they didn't work anymore, the walls were in bad need of painting, the vinyl floors had many gouges and tears, and the place was totally filthy.

That's when we decided that we would not renew her lease. So when she again passed HER part of the inspection but we were asked to make the repairs that SHE had intentionally caused we decided to ask her to move out sooner.........

All she was required to do
was to clean her oven!
She did so by placing
foil on top of filth and
she passed HER part
of the inspection
(This stove was in perfect shape when she moved in.)

And that's when we discovered the sad, disgusting, and disappointing truth about Section 8 and some of their clients!

To be fair, I understand that there are landlords who do not treat their tenants well and do not maintain and fix repairs in the units. These are indeed "slumlords". But there needs to be a fair balance between landlord and tenant and not one sided as I feel Section 8 has been in this case.

Please keep in mind that the following are
ONLY A FEW of the pictures

that were taken of the destruction.

accident:
an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury
vandalism:
action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.

You decide!

THE WALLS

Notice the "patches" that she had applied for camouflage!

One of the rat holes in garage

THE DOORS

A nice surprise behind the drawing!

CARPET

Notice more holes in the walls.

FILTH

Once the refrigerator and stove were moved.

By now I think you get the drift............

Below is the initial inspection letter to me from Sec. 8. Comments in red are made by me....I did not send this back to Section 8 and comments are meant for the reader of this blog.

Below is the response from Section 8.

We were hesitant to fix any damage until the tenant was out of the unit for obvious reasons. Once the unit was empty and we were able to see the total destruction, I sent the letter below to the tenant's Sec. 8 coordinator along with my letter to the tenant as well as the CD showing all the damages.

The coordinator gave a copy to the Supervisor of Inspections who called me to discuss the situation. Then I received the following letter from the coordinator (below).

to me this felt like a slap in the face especially after standing in filth for 3 days assessing the damages and trying to decide where we should start!

I decided to start with the letter below!

We've decided not to participate in Section 8 housing from now on after our two negative experiences..........2 bad out of 3 is not a good average. I blame the program itself not the clients. Because of Section 8's lack of responsibility it makes it bad for individuals who take negative advantage of this program....and that's the sad part of it.

The problem with all government programs is not that they exist but that they are not monitored to enforce "common sense rules" for individuals that are receiving services. The program administrators MUST be held accountable but sadly they are not.

Please send this post to anyone that has rentals.......this is not to warn against Section 8 recipients but only to caution them that Section 8 inspections are not reliable and that they need to be vigilant in making routine inspections and documenting and reporting even the slightest infractions to this department in hopes of never finding themselves in the situation that we are now facing because of our ignorance regarding this program.

______________________________

ANOTHER NIGHTMARE

We have had a previous Section 8 tenant that I would definitely rent to again. However, in 2007 we rented to another Section 8 couple, (names withheld in this post). I found out later that everything she filled out on the application was a lie.

* At the time I thought it strange that a couple having only one son would qualify for a 1,400 square foot, 3-bedroom unit. (There was a teenage daughter who would occasionally visit but she lived with her father.)

About 3 months later we received a letter from Section 8 stating that the couple no longer qualified for vouchers. Although we made continuous special arrangements with the tenants they were consistently late (once she admitted to me that she spent the rent at the casino). At one point, after being almost 3 months behind, her mother paid her up to date...and then the whole process started over again. Money orders were lost AND the receipts were lost as well. The boss cheated the boyfriend out of hours...you name it we heard it all. Then the boyfriend lost his job. Although this woman bragged that she had gone to college and had very marketable skills she never searched for a job because according to her, her 10-year-old son needed her to be home (although the child's father was not working). We are always willing to work with our tenants because things do happen. We take pride in our units and keep them in repair as well as consistent general maintenance.

During the entire rental history with us things kept getting worse with these tenants. Our property was used as a junkyard as well as a used car lot. It seems the boyfriend was offered a job by the tenant next door but never bothered to apply. I found out that the woman basically made a career of getting help with utility payments and who knows what else. Since neither of the couple had jobs the boyfriend would get free things from Craig's list and clean them up for resale. Our place was a mess and our other tenants were complaining.

A dog was listed on the lease and the $500 pet deposit for one dog was paid ($500, but they qualified for assistance?) They got another dog, without permission, and began breeding dogs. You can imagine my surprise when I visited the tenant next door and puppies were running in and out of the next unit! I confronted the tenant and was told that the other dog was not theirs; it just showed up (it was obvious this dog had recently had puppies). I was told the puppies belonged to a friend and that she was just dog sitting (although there was a "puppies for sale" by the driveway). Needless to say the unit stank so bad I wondered how they lived in it.

We finally gave them notice to move in July. They simply refused to leave so we hired an attorney and we ended up with a judgment against them for rent owing plus attorney fees.

She hadn't bothered to show up at the hearing. However, once the sheriff posted the eviction notice she requested a hearing. She never showed up for that hearing and the sheriff posted again. She requested another hearing (which was granted!). The third time she pulled this she did show up in court with a FREE attorney and we finally had to agree to let them stay until they were able to con some other victim to rent to them (which was another week). This woman obviously knew how to lie, con, and stall for time and got away with it.

During this time were also threatened, twice, that if we didn't allow them to stay another month our "place would not be standing." I reported this to the sheriff's office and was told there wasn't much they could do but they could check for any warrants. The next day she was arrested on 2 theft charges, put in handcuffs in front of her child, and taken to jail where her mother apparently bailed her out. She was free the same day. You can imagine the frustration we felt. It took us 3 months to get rid of these people and we never will recover our 4 months lost rent not to mention the expenses and work of making the unit livable again (the carpet had just been replaced when they moved in.)

I went online (after the fact) to http://dw.courts.wa.gov/ and came up with 34 prior judgments (her name is not common so I'm sure that all of these are hers). Hardly a year went by without a judgment against this woman, starting in 1988 until our judgment in September of 2009.

* Note...Section 8 paid this couple's entire monthly rent payments!

I'm not certain how many months, or years, this couple received free housing before Section 8 stopped payments (3 months after moving into our unit). As far as I could tell, they were in their late 30's with no disabilities....just a good sob story that Section 8 apparently fell for.......but then how did they slip through the Section 8 background check, especially with their history?

Needless to say I was furious and decided to contact HASCO. (They assumed I was a landlord interested in renting to Section 8.)

Below is my e-mail inquiry to Section 8:

Section 8 Personnel,

I am a rental property owner and am interested in what type of background check you perform on individuals that apply to receive housing vouchers (section 8).

1. Do you accept clients with a history of misdemeanors or only check for felonies?
2. How many years do you go back when checking their history?
3. Do you verify that a client is telling the truth when applying for
assistance?
4. Once a client/tenant receives housing do you verify with the landowner who is residing in the unit?
5. Are there any follow-ups to assure that clients are not abusing the program? I understand you do a yearly inspection and both the tenant and client are aware of the dates well in advance but do you make any unannounced visits?

I appreciate your time and help in regards to my questions.

Thank you,
Carol

Section 8's reply to me:

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Section 8 Landlord.

We using the Washington State Patrol background screening. It provides a full criminal background check for an adult record. Clients certify under penalty of consequences that the information is correct and true. It is important to note that we only screen clients when they initially come on to the program. We encourage all potential landlords to screen our clients as they would any other potential applicant.

Once a client receives assistance, we execute a HAP contract with a landlord that indicates the approved household members. Clients must certify household composition annually, at a minimum, and anytime there is a change. Again, clients certify with consequences for failing to truthfully provide information.

We take allegations of program fraud seriously, and investigate all according to our policy.

Units are inspected at least once per year and clients are always provided with 48 hours notice of any inspection, as required by Washington Landlord-Tenant law.

I hope this helps as you make a decision about becoming a landlord. Feel free to contact me should you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

(name removed by me)

Everett Housing AuthoritY

OK..I get it...these individuals can break the law as long as it's not a felony but they can be a check forger, shop lifter, scammer, have other judgements against them, and whatever else "petty crook" they choose to be and the taxpaying citizens will be responsible for providing for them.

WHERE IS THE COMMON SENSE?

Do these "Initiators of Government Programs" use any commons sense at all when it comes to outlining their expectations from recipients? I believe these bureaucrats concentrate more on what needs to be expected from the taxpaying citizens, the individuals who end up paying for the programs!

If there is a complaint against a tenant they are given a 48-hour notice before Section 8 personnel can investigate? I thought that HUD programs would be able to discriminate against criminals. Apparently clients can be thieves, forgers, have previous evictions and other misdemeanors and still qualify for housing. And are given enough time to temporarily clean up their act before someone can investigate.

During my volunteer work it was required that I have a yearly background check. I was fine with this and the only people complaining about this would be the criminals. Why would it not make sense to do a yearly background check for clients to continue on the program? I, as a taxpayer, do not feel we should be paying for persons with continuous misdemeanors such as this tenant had.

_______________________

SAY WHAT?

We're talking about PRIVATE landlords here!....what you are allowed to do with your own buildings that you paid for out of your earned dollars!

"Montgomery County landlords cannot turn away
low-income renters simply because they receive federal
Section 8 housing assistance, the Maryland Court of
Appeals ruled Friday." more on this.......

................and if that doesn't stink of liberal socialism
what does?

RUN DOWN TENEMENTS
The nasty tenements that everybody whines about
and liberals blame the landlord for were not always trashed
and disgusting places ....
they were once new and
landlords probably just gave up after constantly
dealing with vandals such as the woman who rented from us.
That's one side.

Some landlords who refuse to fix
broken things and damage caused by old age
and/or every day wear or do not replace defective items
are "slumlords".
That's the other side.
(But I believe these are
very few in comparison to the above.)

__________________________

Green Car

2009-01-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

What a very proud moment for the woman driving the "green" car! How excited she must be knowing she can drive about 150 miles per gallon and stop every few miles to "charge up". What a patriot...and how selfless using less to give more to "THE OTHERS"!

Hmmmm....what about equality...you know.....all of us tightening our belts....all of us being equal contributors..........Hmmmm what about B.O.B.S.! (does anyone need to know what B.O.B.S.that stands for? LOL)
Oh, and there's the 1.1 million dollar BEAST courtesy of the Taxpayers.

Anybody ever wonder what eventually happens to the "green car" batteries and how they get disposed of? Environmental health issues? Common sense?

_______________

Ahhhhh, much better! LOL

2008-04-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

SOME HISTORY
The Royalty lived in luxury by heavily taxing the English people, many who had very little left to take care of their own families and lived very sparingly unless they were in favor of the Royal court which was shrouded in secrecy, schemes, taking sides, payoffs, threats, gifts, favors, and more....... sound familiar? Pick up any history book and read about those times as well as the history of France, Spain, Russia and more. You will find a parallel and why the working citizens of the lands finally revolted against the rulers. This is not fiction but reality.

In a socialist and communist society there is the powerful elite and the powerless. What the elite preaches is the redistribution of wealth-------which simply means that the elite take the first cut for themselves then the meager "what's left" gets divided. No matter how politicians want to gussy it up...................that's how it works...............read history. And by the way, isn't this what's been happening? The special interest a.k.a. stimulus money shows that.

2008-01-02T20:08:00.000-08:00

Let's not forget that WE are EQUAL to the politicians that WE ELECT to carry out OUR VOICE IN GOVERNMENT!

ASK YOURSELF WHY?
1. If this Health Care Reform is such a great thing why have “The People” been so against it for years?

2. Why do the politicians exempt themselves from this Health Care plan and refuse to join, but demand that the rest of us do (and pay for this with our tax dollars)?

3. Politicians push for us to conserve. However, why are they not giving up their gas guzzling limos and jets, not to mention their mansions that in some cases use up to 10 times the energy of an average home?

Why do these people feel entitled and how did we allow them to get that way?

WE HAVE TERM LIMITED THE PRESIDENT -- NOW LET'S TERM LIMIT THE LEGISLATORS.
Or does this make to much sense?
*************************